By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of August 27th to September 3rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing.
Leo Santa Cruz to Defend Bantamweight Title Against Eric Morel
Golden Boy Promotions’ September 15th card recently added another world title fight to their already stacked lineup for Showtime. Unbeaten Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz (20-0-1) will be defending his Bantamweight World Championship belt against two-time world champion Eric Morel (46-3) in the opening fight on Showtime. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com and the card will be broadcast on Showtime.
Jimmy Lange to Face Tony Jeter on October 27th
Contender alumni Jimmy Lange (38-4-2) will be fighting Tony “Mo Better” Jeter (13-3-1) in the Main Event of the October 27th Jimmy Lange Boxing card at Patriot Center. The bout will be taking place in the middleweight division. Lange has fully recovered from an injury he sufferent in training camp that caused the bout to be postponed from taking place last June. Tickets start at $40 and can be purchased at all Ticketmaster outlets. More information can be found at www.Facebook.com/JimmyLangeBoxing.
Rodriguez Knockouts Joyi
Mario Rodriguez (15-6) knocked out Nkosinathi Joyi (22-1) in the strawweight division in what is considered by many to be a an upset. Rodriguez is undefeated since 2010 and sent him to the ground in the seventh round with a combination. Rodriguez scored the victory at 2:07 of the seventh round.
Mikey Garcia Easily Stops Pastrana
Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia (29-0) had little problems defeating overmatched opponent Mauricio Pastrana (35-17-2) on Saturday night in the junior lightweight division. Garcia landed a flush right hand in the second round, and Pastrana fell to the ground and did not answer the count. The end came at 1:05 of round 2. Garcia should be fighting Orlando Salido next.
Mthalane TKO’s Nunez
Moruti Mthalane (29-2) stopped Ricardo Nunez (24-3) in the 8th round on Saturday night in Panama City, Panama. Mthalane scored a first round knockdown, but also suffered a third round knockdown. Mthalane was able to put Nunez on the ground in the 8th round again at 2:41 and the referee called the fight off.
Dulorme and Pedraza Victorious in Puerto Rico
Thomas Dulorme (16-0) remained undefeated with a clean sweep over Yoryi Estrella (10-8) on Friday night in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He won on all three scorecards with scores of 100-90. Jose Pedraza (10-0) also remained undefeated with an eight round decision over Jose Valderrama (4-2). Pedraza also had a clean sweep with scores of 80-71 on all the scorecards.
Marco Huck to Defend WBO Title Against Firat Arslan
On November 3rd, WBO Cruiserweight Champion Marco Huck will be defending his title against Firat Arslan at the Gerry-Weber-Stadium in Halle/Westphalia, Germany. Huck looks make it ten title defenses in a row when he fights Arslan, and a victory for Huck will result in him being crowned Super Champion.
“That is an extra motivation,” said Huck. “I would be the first fighter in our Team to receive that honor. I will not let the chance of becoming WBO Super-Champion slip away.”
Tickets can be purchased online at www.eventim.de
Big Fox Sports Show Airs From the Hangar
Undefeated Luis Ramos will be fighting Mexico’s Noe Bolanos in a special edition of Fight Club OC, Saturday, September 8th in a bout that will air on Fox Sports Net, Fox Deportes, and Fuel TV. Ramos is 22-0 and Bolanos is 24-6. The undercard will also feature top 20 heavyweight Deontay Wilder who is undefeated at 24-0.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.fightcluboc.com
Injury to Randall Bailey Forces New Main Event for September 8th
Ajose Olusegun vs. Lucas Matthysse has been elevated to main event status following a back injury to Randall Bailey, who was slated to do battle with Devon Alexander. The co-feature for the September 8th card has yet to be determined. Olusegun (30-0) and Matthysse (31-2) will be fighting in the main event of an internationally televised world championship fight card for the first time.
“We’re disappointed that Devon will not have the opportunity to fight Randall Bailey for the title this weekend, but we’re hopeful that Randall will recover quickly so we can reschedule this great fight,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “As every cloud has a silver lining, we’re excited that the explosive September 8 match-up between Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse will now be in the spotlight headlining a great night of boxing.”
Hatton Promotions Ace Rabchenko Faces French Test
Sergey Rabchenko will make the first defense of his European light-middleweight title against Cedric “Titi” Vitu. Vitu is the mandatory challenger for the unbeaten Belarussian’s crown and the match has been ordered by the EBU. Rabchenko has won 16 of his 21 fights inside the distance and will start preparing for his challenge later this month when he returns to Manchester and begins working with trainer Ricky Hatton. The date of the fight will be announced in the coming weeks.
Cleverly Defends Title Against Uzelkov
Welsh star Nathan Cleverly will make the fourth defense of his WBO World Light Heavyweight title against the Ukranian Vyacheslav Uzelkov. This bout will take place on Saturday October 27th in Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena and will be televised live and exclusive on BoxNation. Vyacheslav is currently ranked number nine by the WBO, four by the WBA, and seven by the IBF. Tickets can be purchased at www.motorpointarena.co.uk.
Barclays Center Open for Business on October 20th with a World Championship Tripleheader
Barclays Center opens for boxing business on October 20th with a world championship triple header. The last world title fight took place in Brooklyn on August 5th, 1931. The main event, which will be televised live on Showtime, features unbeaten Danny “Swift” Garcia defending his WBA and WBC Super Lightweight World Championships against Erik Morales. Paulie Malignaggi will put his WBA Welterweight World Championship on the line against Pablo Cesar Cano, and undefeated Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin will take on unbeaten Hassan N’Dam for the WBO Middleweight Championship. Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.
DiBella Looking for Breakout Performances on September 29th Triple Header
On September 29th, DiBella Entertainment presents the Boxing After Dark tripleheader, live from the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, in Mashantucket, CT. Headlining the card will be Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (21-0) against Jason “El Monstruo” Escalera (13-0-1) in the super middleweight division. The televised co-feature wil be Luis Del Valle (16-0) against Vic Darchinyan (37-5-1) for the vacant NABF Super Bantamweight title. The opening bout will be between Szolt Erdei (33-0) and Isaac Chilemba (19-1-1) in the light heavyweight division.
Willie Nelson vs. John Jackson Added to Martinez vs. Chavez Jr. Card
Willie “The Great” Nelson (18-1-1) will be fighting undefeated John “Dah Rock” Jackson (13-0) on September 15th for the vacant NABF Super Welterweight title. It will be part of the Sergio-Martinez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. HBO Pay Per View Event. Nelson was last seen upsetting the previously unbeaten Yudel Jhonson on ShoBox.
Kovalev Looking to Make His Mark Against Campillo
On September 21st, Sergey Kovalev (18-0-1) will be looking to make his mark against Gabriel Campillo (21-4-1) in the 10-round main event at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, PA. Kovalev’s fight will be aired as part of the NBC Sports Network Fight Night Series. The opportunity is ripe for Kovalev to make his move and impress the world against Campillo, who recently lost a title challenge to Tavoris Cloud by a very controversial decision.
Kovalev-Campillo tops an exciting bill of bouts that include two 12-rounders, Gabriel Rosado vs. Charles Whittaker in an IBF Jr. Middleweight Title Eliminator, and Bethlehem’s Ronald Cruz vs. Antwone Smith for the WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Title. All three fights are scheduled to be televised live on a three-hour NBC Sports Network broadcast. Tickets can be bought at www.ticketmaster.com.
Nick Cannon to Host Ward vs. Dawson Weigh-In
The official weigh in for Andre Ward vs. Chad Dawson just got bigger and bolder as Nick Cannon, award winning actor, comedian, multi-media mogul, TV and radio show host, has come aboard to serve as host for the open-to-the-public free admission event, set for Friday, September 7 at the Oakland City Center, City Center Square in Oakland, CA.
Cannon will be making his ring announcing debut on September 8th, and fans are encouraged to arrive early before the 2:30 PM weigh-in.